High Wycombe Gains Grade II Listing

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High Wycombe Station Now A Listed Building

The Wycombe Railway was opened from a junction with the GWR main line at Maidenhead, to High Wycombe on 1st August 1854. The engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and his assistant E. F. Murray was the resident engineer. The line was extended to Thame in 1862, and later to Oxford.

The original terminus at Wycombe had an overall roofed trainshed flanked on one side by the station building, and on the other by the locomotive shed. It was a typical Broad Gauge design, but constructed in local brick and flint. When the line was extended to Thame, a new passenger station was constructed, and the old one became a goods shed.

From research and surveys carried out by BGS members, the building was extended in 6 stages to the size it is today. The original buildings are remarkably intact, and retain many original features, which is why we are so concerned about it’s potential loss.

Since goods facilities were withdrawn from High Wycombe, the building has been used commercially, but Chiltern Trains have now applied for planning permission to demolish it and use the site as a temporary car park. We understand that the long term plan is to redevelop the site.

One of our local members has taken a great interest in the building, and has extensively measured and photographed it. He applied to the Department of Culture Media and Sport for the building to be listed, and submitted much documentation to support this. As a result of this it now has Grade II status, and this helps to safeguard it's future. One of the documents that had a big influence on the decision was an article on the building in our journal, The Broadsheet.

The Chiltern Trains planning application is for permission to demolish part of the building. This would destroy all but a tiny part of the original part of the structure. Wycombe District Council have received 22 objections, mainly as a result of our campaign on the Internet. Thanks to it's new listed status, if this application is continued with, a public enquiry will be required before permission can be granted. If you have not yet done so, it may still be worth writing to object to the planning application.

If the building is saved, a new use will have to be found for it, but the first stage is to make sure it survives.